The leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a violent turn on Wednesday as a Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting descended into chaos over the battle for the position of national secretary.
The meeting presided over by the BoT Chairman, Adolphus Wabara, was disrupted when two contenders for the secretary position, Samuel Anyanwu and Sunday Ude-Okoye, sought recognition as the legitimate occupant.
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The composition of the BOT includes all past and serving national chairmen, deputy national chairmen and national secretaries of the PDP who are still members of the party;
Mr Anyanwu arrived early at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, where the BoT meeting was scheduled. However, trouble started when Mr Ude-Okoye arrived minutes later, attempting to enter the meeting hall, but was blocked by party officials believed to be loyal to Mr Anyanwu.
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Mr Ude-Okoye insisted that he was the rightful occupant of the position based on a Court of Appeal ruling that declared him the authentic national secretary.
The situation led to a heated argument, which prompted Mr Ude-Okoye’s supporters to scale the fence to gain entry into the secretariat.
Amidst the commotion, chairs and objects were thrown, and some party loyalists engaged in physical confrontations, forcing some BoT members to flee the meeting hall.
However, security personnel struggled to maintain order.
Legal battle and power struggle
The struggle for the national secretary position has continued since 2023, following Mr Anyanwu’s emergence as the PDP’s governorship candidate in the Imo State election. He lost the election to Governor Hope Uzodimma.
His candidacy left a vacancy in the party’s secretariat, leading the South-east Zonal Executive Committee to nominate Mr Ude-Okoye as his replacement.
However, Mr Anyanwu resisted his removal and obtained multiple court injunctions to retain the position. Despite these efforts, in a ruling delivered on 20 December 2024, the Court of Appeal declared that Mr Anyanwu had forfeited his position upon contesting the Imo governorship election.
In the lead judgement by Ridwan Abdullahi, the appellate court said Mr Anyanwu’s claim to the position after he contested and emerged as the PDP governorship election in Imo State violated the party’s constitution, and his appeal had no merit.
Despite the ruling, Mr Anyanwu refused to vacate office and appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. He also filed for a stay of execution, arguing that the appellate court’s decision should not be enforced until the Supreme Court delivers a final verdict.
On his part, Mr Ude-Okoye insisted that he was the rightful secretary based on the strength of his judgement.
Amid the ongoing crisis, PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi stated that the party would abide by the court order and follow due process in determining who holds the position.
With the Supreme Court yet to rule on the matter, the battle for the PDP national secretary position may remain unresolved, and the crisis may continue to deepen.
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